Couples contest with the hubby

Ok, so let's talk about a common resolution: losing weight. The hubby and I decided to make the month of January a competitive, intense and hopefully a little lighter...by pounds, that is.

Like most people...and women for that matter, I had been putting off taking that first step to start making myself feel better about myself and my body. And even though C is perfect and I don't think he has anything to worry about with weight, he wants to do it so he can feel his best, too. Overall, of course, we want to do all of this for our 4 children.

I mean we are still young, but we aren't getting any younger. Plus, I've been noticing my energy has just been next to zero and I want to be active for the kids.

So we've created our "Couples Contest." We have a weigh-in tomorrow morning in our master bathroom and whoever loses the most weight between tomorrow and February 1st wins. Seems simple enough right? Well, I'm nervous, but I'm willing to give it a try.

With everything that's happened the last year and every year leading up to this moment, I know I can do anything I set my mind to. Besides the coveted title of the winner of this competitive contest we have going on between us, we've each chosen an incentive if we win.

I went first and decided if I lose more weight that he would have to undergo another "first time" and get a manicure and pedicure with me. It will be fun, relaxing and will be a unique experience for the both of us.

I almost wish he had gone first because my incentive seems selfish and small compared to what he wants for his incentive. He said that if he wins, he wants me to write, edit, proofread, set up a publisher and completely finish my next book. I hadn't even thought of anything like that.

My problem is I have so many ideas brewing inside my head and written down on post-its that I never know what to start or finish especially since we are always so busy. So, he gave me the option of no excuses which will probably be more rewarding than losing weight.

Well, losing the baby weight and trying to tone areas that we women rarely speak of will be a great feat, too.

I've done a lot of research, planning and brainstorming on what I'd like to do in order to make this journey a smooth one. I'm no doctor or nutritionist, but I've created a meal plan and even a daily exercise plan. I can already hear the judging before I type it...but I am also going to undergo the controversial and popular Master Cleanse to rid myself years of toxins, build-up and to pave the road to healthier eating.

If you are still with me, thank you for not shaking your finger at me. I've read a lot of reviews where people couldn't understand why someone would put themselves through such torture. "Why can't you just exercise like a normal person to lose weight?" Where that could be a legit concern, there are a lot of misconceptions about the master cleanse aka the lemonade diet.

I'm not here to be a martyr or to name drop, but I'm just here to share my experiences over the next month. I welcome any and all questions or comments...don't worry you won't hurt my feelings.

And, in case you are wondering, I'm not obese or anything. The only problem areas I have are common-my stomach (pooch lol) and my obliques (lovehandles LOL-funny word for a body part). I want to tone my butt, too. I love keeping my sweetheart happy...even though he says I'm beautiful even before we start the contest.

OK, so stay tuned for comments from me, daily grumblings, pictures documenting my progress, possible videos and meal plans, etc.

And to everyone out there: Happy New Year and good luck with all of your resolutions.

Remember:

"The longest journey begins with a single step." ~Lao-Tzu





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Would you like to join me on the Master Cleanse?
Find out how... http://tinyurl.com/cleanse-your-body

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Tips For Those Who Need To Lose Weight - Part Two

If you’re looking for some weight loss tips, you will find many different tactics when you look for them.

For example, you might read to drink more water, to omit certain things from your diet, and to exercise more.

Besides those great things, I believe a huge impact can be gained by not letting yourself become too discouraged; you do matter and life can be wonderful if you see it that way.

First you should look for support among family and friends. It can be an enormous help to discuss obstacles and share skills and tactics with others on the same path.

You might look for this support from others you know who are in weight loss programs and you can seek guidance from someone you know who has lost weight and kept it off.

There are success stories across the country today. On television and in newspapers, magazines and tabloids about people who have miraculously lost untold pounds and kept it off. In all instances they say their mental attitude as well as their outlook on life has totally changed.

Diets and weight loss programs are more flexible now than they once were and there are many prepared foods already portioned out. They are made attractive and can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Low-fat and low-calorie foods are on shelves everywhere.

You will probably need to learn new, wiser eating skills. You will want a weight loss regimen that gives you some control, rather than imposing one rigid system.

Look for one that offers a variety of different eating plans, so you can choose the one that's best for you.

You can check out more about losing weight on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

How To Choose The Right Weight Loss Program

Weight loss programs are all over the place nowadays. Everybody seems to have the latest and greatest "magic answer" to lose weight.

The truth is... most of these diets do, in fact, work. But they're certainly not for everyone.

So how do you choose a weight loss program that's right for you?

The most important thing to do is consider certain criteria.

Are you a picky eater? - If you're picky you might not want to indulge in diets that eliminate certain foods or force you to narrow down your choices.

Low carb diets might be horrific for you if you enjoy fruits and vegetables. On the same note, vegetarian diets might be horrible for you if you love meat.

The good news is that there are diets that allow you to eat whatever you want... you just have to discipline yourself not to go overboard.

Do you exercise? - If you're not very active you might want to choose a diet that emphasizes exercise.

On the other hand...you might want to choose a diet that doesn't push exercise if you can't or are not willing to put in a lot of exercise.

Do you need support? - If you know that you need someone to help hold you accountable, join an organized weight loss program where you can readily find a partner or a community to support you in your weight loss endeavors.

What's your lifestyle? Make sure that the weight loss program that you ultimately choose is something that fits in well with your life.

You can check out more about diet choices on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

Low Carb Diets - How Effective Are They?

Low carbohydrate diets such as Atkins have strong short-term effects. I don't know anybody who couldn't lose a ton of weight with it.

I also don't know anybody who was able to keep the weight off once they reintroduced carbs.

This doesn't work for a bunch of reasons.

1. A lot of the weight that you lose on the low carb diet is water weight. Every gram of carbohydrate that you ingest is generally accompanied by 3-5 grams of water. When you lose the carbs, you lose the water. After you decide to start eating carbohydrates again, not only do you get the water weight back, but your body also rebounds against you and starts retaining all new water that comes in. Sure, after a few days, your body will stop retaining the water, but at this point, your mental state has been wrecked. This does not help you psychologically when trying to maintain weight loss.

2. If you drop your carbohydrate level too low while exercising, you can alter your body's T3 levels. This will lower your metabolic rate, which will cause all sorts of bad effects, including losing weight slower.

3. When you don't eat carbohydrates, your body takes whatever protein you get and converts it into glucose, which is then used for energy. This is usually what the role of carbohydrates are, but since you're depriving yourself, your body needs to adjust accordingly. The result of this is that you don't get to experience the important benefits of protein (maintenance, repair, and growth of body tissues), because it's too busy being converted into energy instead.

4. Your muscles lose their density and flatten out when on a low carb diet. Your muscles feel softer, and your energy level goes down.

5. When this diet was popular in the 1970s, doctors saw that people regained their weight very quickly after getting off the diet. They found that this was because people became very carbohydrate sensitive when coming off the diet. The effect was magnified if these people exercised while on the diet. The body would horde as many carbohydrates as possible when they were eaten again, out of fear that they wouldn't get more later.

People gained a lot of water weight that did come off, but people noticed that it was much easier for them to gain weight in the future, and much harder to lose it.
There are many other effects that come with the low carb diet as well... many of them are devastating.

You can check out more about other diet tips on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

Does Fasting To Lose Weight Really Work?

Fasting to lose weight is generally not a good idea. Sure, fasting absolutely works for many things - including cleansing your body of toxins and "refueling" your system - but for weight loss, fasting is not very effective. No doubt about it, fasting will help people lose weight for the short term. It will not, however, allow for permanent fat loss.

The problem undoubtedly comes in when people begin eating again. Because their bodies never know if they are going to receive any more calories (especially if it has hit starvation mode), they desperately cling on to every calorie that they can.

Because of this, one of two things would happen.

The first thing (and the luckier of the two) would be that someone wouldn't be able to lose any more weight once they got off the fast and reintroduced foods. The more common bodily response, though, is to gain weight (even if foods are introduced gradually). Not only would this be damaging short term, but it could also damage the metabolism if fasting happened frequently enough. This is because valuable muscle tissue is lost during the fasting process. Fasting often could make weight loss via normal means even harder in the future.

Other problems that are attributed to fasting are brittle nails, sensitivity to cold, fatigue, diarrhea or constipation, and heart problems. Sudden death could also occur with very low calorie diets. Any type of fast or reduced calorie diet should be medically supervised by a doctor or health professional.

You can check out more about alternatives to fasting on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

A "Lose Weight" Diet Plan - How Hard Is It To Find One?

Diet plans are all over the place for people who have pounds to shed. There are cabbage diets, grape diets, low carbohydrate, low calorie, starvation, and everything in between.

So how does one know the best diet plan for them?

There are a few things that one should consider when looking at diet plans. First, they should look at the long term effects of a diet. Sure, some diets offer rapid weight loss - but long term, how will they impact the dieter? Are there unhealthy side effects? Will weight gain return? Are there psychological impacts? Logically speaking, if someone is going to put in the work and discipline to go on a diet, it would make sense to do something that will give them the greatest return on investment.

Another important thing for a dieter to look at when evaluating diet plans is how easily the diet would fit into their lifestyle. It could be very damaging for someone to be on a restrictive diet and then still having to live everyday life - events at work, going out to eat with family and friends, holidays, and everything in between.

Something else to look for is to make sure if the diet is restrictive food-wise, that you actually like the foods. This might make sense, but there are many people who try out diets (for example, the low carb diet) that simply can't do it long term because of their love for carbs, or dislike for non-carb foods. On the other hand, it might make the most sense for a dieter to restrict something other than foods - such as calories. This way, they can still choose what they want to eat - just eat in moderation.

You can check out more about diet plans on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

Calorie Cycling Menu

Many people, when starting out, want a calorie cycling menu. The thing is there's no need for any special menus since people can eat whatever they want, as long as they stay within their (very generous) calorie allotments.

People can literally eat crap and still lose weight (not that this is at all recommended). On the cheat days, people can go out to eat and not have to worry about anything. They can order whatever they want, because they've done well for the other days in which they ate low calorie.

This might seem like a crazy Utopia, but it truly does work. There's just no reason for a calorie cycling menu when on this diet.

All people need to do is easily track the calories that they eat (which can easily be done on most websites) and make sure that they line up with the generous amount of calories that they're supposed to be eating on their low days.

On their high days, depending on which plan they go with, they might not even bother to track the calories, because they've been so good all week. This is one of the perks of being on a calorie cycling (also known as calorie shifting or zigzag diet) plan.

Most people who follow some sort of calorie cycling menu like to eat healthier, just because calorie cycling is more of a healthy diet plan, and it attracts more of those people. Either way, it doesn't matter - follow the calorie allotments and you'll be on a healthy road to weight loss.

You can check out more about calorie cycling on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

What Diet Plan Is The Best For You?

Do you often wonder, "What is the best diet plan for me?" This is not an uncommon question, and is one that you need to take many different things into consideration.

To start with... Americans, who have more overweight people than any other country, lose millions of fat per year... only to gain it back after a small amount of time. The reason for this isn't difficult to figure out - most people follow fad diets which provide minimal nutritional value.

Diets such as the Atkins, South Beach, Cookie Diet, etc... are popular because of the whole "herd" mentality in which everybody follows a fad just because others are doing it. If you want to know what the best diet plan is, you should strongly consider calorie cycling.

Calorie cycling is not one of those fad diets that are devoid of nutritional value. In fact, you can eat anything that you want when you're following a calorie cycling diet.

You can also have "cheat days" so that you don't feel neglected and restricted. Most people become overwhelmed when going on a diet because they need to make such drastic lifestyle changes, and they instantly become miserable.

People also generally resent diets when they have to live differently from everyone else. For example, with the Atkins diet, it's hard to go out to eat and not have some bread from the bread basket... but doing so would destroy the day's efforts.

With calorie cycling, one can eat whatever they want and still lose weight, as long as they adhere to the (very generous) calorie standards.

If you want to know what the best diet plan is, strongly consider calorie cycling.

You can check out more about calorie cycling on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

What Are The Best Ways To Lose Weight?

If you're looking for ways to lose weight, then you have already admitted to yourself that you need to make a change. Congratulations for that.

Your first step should be to create a weight loss goal for yourself. Set a goal that is both realistic and achievable. Setting unrealistic goals that you can't achieve will set you up for misery. You should also have a proper and balanced diet. With calorie cycling, this is very easy.

Having a strong support group is very important as well. Make sure to have people around you that will help hold you accountable so that when you're feeling as if you don't want to count calories, they will make sure that you do.

When you're looking for ways to lose weight, it might be a good idea to find a diet that will help you lose a lot of weight in the very beginning, like calorie cycling. It's not always healthy to lose a ton of weight right away, but the first few weeks of calorie cycling will do that for you, and it will help inspire you to stay on the diet.

Granted, there are many types of diet plans and not every plan is suitable for everyone. When choosing a diet plan, make sure that you consider how much and what you're eating now, and how that would change when you went with a specific diet plan.

Also, make sure to get your doctor's permission before starting any weight loss plan. Calorie cycling comes highly regarded with both doctors and psychologists.

You can check out more about calorie cycling on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

Low Calorie Foods - Stop Eating Them!

If you're looking for low calorie foods, there is good news and bad news for you.
The good news: You're in luck. There are plenty of them available.

The bad news: Eating too much low calorie food can actually hurt your weight loss efforts... sometimes forcing you to both plateau and not lose any weight, or worse case scenario, gain weight.

There are a lot of problems that come with eating very low calorie that people don't know about.

Now, don't get me wrong... watching what you eat is a great move and is one that any healthful person should do.

But be warned... if you eat too few calories, your body goes into hunger mode.
Doing this leads to a plethora of bad news, including:

• Lean body mass is lost.

• Loss of muscle, which directly makes metabolism slow down and hinders weight loss efforts

• Fat burning hormones slow down and release leptin (anti-starvation hormone)

• Leptin refuses to release the amount of fat-releasing and fat-burning enzymes as it used to

• You feel tired

• You have less energy

• You're more likely to get frustrated and give up. Once you do this, it often leads to binges, which leads to more frustration.

A great alternative to this all-too-common problem is to implement calorie cycling. With calorie cycling, you still need to watch the amount of calories that you take in, but you get to alternate your low calorie days with your high calorie days. Because of this, your body never knows what to expect, and it can't go into starvation mode. Also, you won't feel frustrated and likely to give up, and you'll stay on the diet even longer.

These reasons are why doctors and psychologists heartily recommend calorie cycling.

You can check out more about calorie cycling on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

The Shifting Calories Theory

The Shifting Calories Theory is one of the newest "it" phrases in the weight loss industry. The interesting thing, though, is that shifting calories has been around for a long time. It's been called many things, including "calorie cycling", "calorie shifting", and "the zigzag diet".

Although most "it" diets focus on restriction of some kind (whether through calories, food groups, or eating only specific foods), The Shifting Calories Theory is a bit different. It focuses on eating any kind of food that the dieter wants (but recommends healthy foods, of course).

This weight loss method, which seems counterintuitive to people, actually gives most dieters fast and continuous weight loss.

There are two different websites that are promoting The Shifting Calories Theory right now. One of these websites works by supplying the dieter with many different meal choices to eat, grouped by calorie. The dieter gets to choose the meals that they want, and make sure that their calories equal what the calorie calculator tells them to eat. Dieters get to eat a liberal amount of calories most of the week and even get one to two "cheat days" so that they don't feel restricted.

These "cheat days" are what makes psychologists adore the diet, and what makes dieters stay on the diet.

Some websites have success stories from people who have lost over 18 pounds in two weeks (obviously this is not typical).

The Shifting Calories Theory works so well because it was discovered that deprivation diets force one's metabolism to actually slow down. While weight loss is effortless in the beginning, metabolism slows down and people have a hard time continuing to lose weight and subsequently plateau.

You can check out more about The Shifting Calories Theory on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

Extreme Weight Loss Tips When You Really Want To Lose Weight

Many people have heard about all types of extreme weight loss tips that are supposed to help them lose weight.

The fact of the matter is most of them are simply inaccurate. Let's explore some of
the myths.

Because we live in such a fast paced world, sometimes it's necessary for us to take what other people’s experiences at face value since we don't have time to check into everything ourselves.
However, be careful: there are many diet and weight loss tips out there that actually aren't accurate at all.

Extreme Weight Loss Tip 1: Avoid eating carbohydrates if you want some quick weight loss... right?

Wrong.

If you want to lose weight, you should cycle your calories (or carbohydrates). But cutting them out is not a good solution at all for long term weight loss.

Make no mistakes - you will lose weight if you cut out carbs, and you'll lose it quickly. However, you will, without a doubt, gain the weight back.

No one type of food group should be avoided in order to lose weight. Not only is this restrictive and emotionally frustrating to the dieter, but it isn't conducive to lifestyle changes. Once you eat low carbohydrate, your body will get used to it and expect you to continue to eat that way forever.

It's absolutely smart to look into more of the complex carbohydrates such as whole grains or beans versus the processed foods... but don't avoid carbs altogether.
Extreme Weight Loss Tip 2: It doesn't matter what you do... genetics will determine your weight! ... Or will they?

This is actually a myth.

Yes, biology studies have shown that relatives do usually have similar weights to that of their family. That doesn't mean that you're destined to be whatever weight your family is.

A good diet will help anyone even if they might take longer to lose weight than those people with faster metabolisms.

You should never allow yourself to give up with the excuse of genetics.

You can check out more about extreme weight loss tips on my website at http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle

How Does Calorie Cycling Help Me Lose Weight?

A brand new way to lose weight has been hitting airwaves all over the United States.

This diet, called "calorie cycling", allows people to effectively lose large amounts of weight in short periods of time. But before you dismiss it as a fad diet, read on.
This way of eating teaches people to switch up the amount of calories that they eat day-to-day. By doing this, their body can never figure out how many calories are coming into it (as is often the case with low calorie or low carbohydrate diets), and therefore it can't adjust... or plateau.

The diet actually enforces cheat days and says that it wouldn't be successful without it.

Rachel Rofe, calorie cycling expert, explains that our bodies are used to this way of eating. During the cavemen era, our ancestors would have to go hungry for days at a time. Whenever they got the opportunity to eat, they would binge in order to stay satisfied until the next time they had the opportunity to eat.

Cheat days are similar to the days that our ancestors fasted. Because the metabolism never expects these days, it can never adjust to a certain way of eating, and the body is literally forced to continue dropping unwanted pounds.

Because people get to have these cheat days where they can literally eat anything they want, psychologists heartily recommend this diet. They love that dieters don't need to feel deprived or malnourished. Doctors love it because it's a natural way to lose weight without people having to deprive themselves of nutrients, food groups, or even "bad" food.

Because calorie cycling is much easier to stick to than a typical weight loss plan, it has a much larger retention rate than many of the other diets.

You can check out more about calorie cycling at my website http://tinyurl.com/yayFOODlifestyle